The Perfect Secret

by Steena Holmes

[Jeff Sexton]

Among the Creepiest Book Villains I've Ever Encountered. Seriously, I can't go into too much detail there without venturing into spoiler territory, but that is arguably the strongest selling point of this book. Literally only two books - of the thousand or so I've read in my lifetime - readily come to mind as being anywhere close to this level of creepy with their villains. (Though, disclosure: I typically don't read creepy books and wasn't really expecting that here.)

But while the ultimate criminal in this tale is super creepy, the book itself has a fairly tight cast and is a somewhat standard ish mystery. A multi-time convict gets another chance at life outside prison walls and is determined never to see the inside of them again. The story follows a present day investigation she winds up in the middle of as well as the last few years of her life from the moment of her last release from prison and joining up with the current timeline. Excellently paced, some of the creepiness is apparent early ish but I did not see the full details coming at all. Even then, the author keeps revealing surprises almost until the last sentence. Excellent work, and very much recommended.